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Sons find dad 25 years later

ASHEBORO — Evon Cromedy grew up in a large family, learning early on how to care for others — her mother, her brothers and then 40 foster children. She became a certified nursing assistant and went to work for Angels Home Care. Her career brought her to 66-year old Tim Billinger 2 1/2 years ago.

She took him to his doctors’ visits, made sure he had plenty to eat and cared for him as a dear friend. She even got him a little dog, Lilly, to keep him company.

But she always had a nagging feeling that there was another story to Billinger, one he could not remember. All he could tell her was that he had been a truck driver, had worked with a carnival in Greensboro and for some reason remembered the south side of Chicago. There were gaps in time which Billinger could not remember. She gathered that a church helped set him up with public housing and public assistance in Asheboro after he left the carnival.

Thanksgiving was coming up and she felt he needed to be around family.

With gusto, Cromedy started researching the Billinger name. She called. She looked online. Nothing. Then on Nov. 12, she tried directory assistance again in Chicago and asked for the Billinger name.

Finally, she found a lead.

She dialed the number and Kevin Billinger answered the phone. He had just hooked up a land line earlier that day and had registered his number with directory assistance.

Cromedy told Kevin she was going to pass the phone to Tim. Kevin noted the name on the caller ID was Tim Billinger, but he didn’t recognize the phone number. His brother’s name was Tim.

“My brother or my father?” Kevin asked.

“I’ll let you and him speak and see if you’re related,” she said to Kevin.

“Who’s this? My son, Kevin?” father Tim Billinger said.

“I said, ‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’ We were crying and hollering together. We were so excited,” Cromedy said.

Kevin was in shock that his father, a man he had not seen in 25 years, was alive and on the other end of the phone. They asked each other a few questions to verify that, yes, Tim was his dad.

Cromedy took Tim’s picture with her phone and emailed it to Kevin. He forwarded it to his brother, Tremayne Porter, and called his other brother, Tim Jr.

When Kevin got Tim Jr. on the phone, he said, “I found Daddy.”

“What do you mean he’s in North Carolina?” Tim Jr. asked.

“Just get out a pen and write this number down,” Kevin told him.

“I didn’t call right away. I said a prayer. I told God thank you. I spent some time reminiscing about my father. What do I say? How am I supposed to react? I laid down. I got up. I laid down. I got up. I was afraid he would not remember me because of his memory issues,” Tim Jr. said.

“Dad, this is Little Tim. Remember me?” Tim Jr. asked.

“You’re my boy!” hollered Tim Sr.

“Yea, this is Pops,” said Tim Jr. “This is my Pops.”

They talked for awhile.

Tremayne, who works at Dunbar Armored, and Tim Jr., who is employed at Ford Motor Co., received a nod from their supervisors to hit the road and head South. They stopped to eat once during their 12-hour trip from the south side of Chicago to Asheboro. The Courier-Tribune captured their reunion at their dad’s Independence Drive apartment in Asheboro.

The two sons, their dad and caretaker couldn’t stop smiling.

After all, they had no idea he was alive. A truck driver, he left home one day and never returned. They didn’t suspect family turmoil. But they had no idea what happened to him.

Next week, the boys have some work to do. Their aunt in Chicago advertised for years trying to find their dad and ultimately had him proclaimed dead. They need to fix the paperwork. And they want to get him some medical attention; they recall their dad being very astute with no memory lapses. They want to find out what happened to him. They have a long list of questions to investigate.

After the initial round of hugs and kisses, Tim Jr. recounted his feelings when his brother, Kevin, called and told him the news.

“I am still in awe. It didn’t register with me. So overwhelming,” he said. ” I was trying to focus on when I last saw him. I tried to remember what he looked like. I was trying to identify with the man at the other end of the phone who I hadn’t seen in 25 years.”

Tremayne said, “I was so happy to find out where he was. I thought he had been in Indiana. People would tell me, ‘Oh, I saw your dad,’ but it never was. The void in my life is now filled back in. This is a good feeling.”

Throughout the years, Tim Jr. had wondered why he would bite his tongue or was a bit temperamental. His uncle, Joe, would tell him, “Oh, that’s just like your dad.” All along, Tim Jr. had heard a little voice in the back of his head saying, “I’m OK. I had faith that my dad was still alive.”

Tim Sr. was a strong part of his children’s lives until they were in their teens. “He taught us to survive, care for our families, find jobs and be strong. He was a great man,” Tim Jr. said.

“Do you still drink your coffee black?” Tremayne asked. They all laughed. Yes, he does.

Since, the boys have spent hours talking with their dad. They’ve done a little shopping and their father’s memory has returned a little.

“This is a very joyous Thanksgiving. The best one I could ever ask for. It’s like the Fourth of July with fireworks!,” Tim Jr. said. “It’s all possible because God was dispatching angels.”